We have become increasingly dependent on big tech for our media production and distribution in Europe. This means big tech companies can dictate the rules of the game. And these rules are often commercial in nature, instead of serving the public good.
Librecast is a project that consists out of a series of European case studies about sovereign media distribution, away from big tech. We showcase these examples and try and learn from them, as we desperately need more sovereignity in our media systems to ensure a well functioning democratic media landscape.
Librecast is funded by the European Cultural Foundation.
What do we mean by sovereign?
One of the values formulated in our manifest is sovereignity. Sovereignity ensures freedom, indepence and agency. Within the context of this project this essentially comes down to two important key principles:
- Citizens are not products — the wellbeing and (democratic) empowerment of citizens will always be the primary concern.
- Citizens have full control over their personal data, their content and interactions.
Components
The project consists of:
(a) This online knowledge base, that provides examples of (media distribution) technology that aligns with public values as outlined in the PublicSpaces manifesto;
(b) In depth case studies that highlight the uptake of open technology in the news and media production and distribution chain. By creating a self- assessment framework, conducting interviews and executing technology watch activities. The case studies fall into two categories: pan-European case studies (also featured on this page below), and Dutch case studies of our Digital Powerwash experience in relation to media distribution on this page;
(c) Events to showcase findings of (b);
(d) The formulation of a ‘practitioners’ statement’. This statement will contain recommendations and implementation guidelines of the best practices by various media outlets.
The project started in 2021 and will come to an end around February 2023. During the whole process we will report and write new updates that will be featured on this project page.
Many thanks to our partners in contributing to this project, in particular Commons Network for helping out in the research process.
